VMD Web Scripts

Exchanging VMD scripts over the web

VMD can be configured (with the Chemical2VMD perl script, which you must first install) to view a VMD script file which has been downloaded from a web browser or received from email. This is useful for many cases:
  • Collaborations -- send your VMD save file to a colleague
  • Teaching -- make a "movie" of your molecule
  • Show off your VMD skills -- there are many neat things to do with VMD

How it works

When a VMD script is transferred over the web or in email it is given the document (MIME) type "chemical/x-vmd". The mail reader or web browser can be configured to start the Chemical2VMD program. That sets up VMD with the special commands to read the script file.

Security warning

A VMD script file uses a superset of the Tcl script language. The language has many features including the ability to remove your files, execute a program, and send email. It is easy for someone to send a script containing malicious code (either deliberately or even by accident). Since VMD is not "safe", running such a script could cause serious problems with your files and account.

Therefore, every time VMD is used to play one of these scripts, a prompt will appear and verify that you want to run the VMD script. If you do not, press the "No" button (or enter "N" if you aren't using the graphical forms interface)

Remember, we do not claim any liability for problems that occur with VMD. See our README file for the full disclaimers.

Simple examples

This is a very new feature in VMD, first implemented May 12, 1996, so there are few examples. Here are a couple simple ideas, click on the name to have the file transfered as a "chemical/x-vmd" file. Click on the (*) to get the text versions.
  • pdbload_bpti( *) -- load BPTI from the PDB and define some of the graphics. Since the structure file is downloaded directly from the PDB ftp site, you must have "url_load" (in the $VMDDIR/scripts/vmd directory) configured so the first line contains the full path to your perl interpreter.
  • draw_surface( *) -- draw the surface of a simple function (from the VMD User's Guide).